Category Archives: Financial communication

Usually, stock markets are quite stress-resistant if it comes to (even relevant) news. It is hard for an individual news piece to move whole markets. IR Magazine has now published an article by Henry Downing that reflects on the circumstances in which impact can still be dramatic. In this context, it highlights the important role of source credibility. News… Read More »

Forbes Magazine is estimating that $30 trillion in assets moves from the current to younger, more sustainably oriented investors, incentivizing companies to implement more comprehensive “ESG” reporting measures. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance reporting and has become a key element in annual reports of companies listed at major stock exchanges, as London, Singapore, NY and… Read More »

One of the pieces certainly worth sharing from my summer reading list is a recent study by researchers from Tulane University that looks at the relationship between a CEO’s language (more precisely word choice) in earnings calls and investor attitude / investment decisions stock performance.

Klaus Kleinfeld, former CEO of German industry giant Siemens, resigned from his position as CEO of Arconic a specialty metals producer spun-off of aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. Kleinfeld resigned after a letter that he had written to Paul Singer, founder of $33 billion hedge fund Elliott Management. Elliott owns a 13 percent stake in Arconic and had launched a campaign to oust… Read More »

People who follow my blog (or read my textbook) are well aware of the fact that corporate reputations can be a major source of value creation for companies. It deserves therefore to be managed just like other assets of a company! A recent study by the Institute for Public Relations supports this thesis, by attempting to but a monetary… Read More »

Regular followers of my blog know the value of IR Magazine research and reporting. I recently came across an article featuring top advice on investor relations websites, as IR Magazine interviewed Patrick Kiss, head of investor and public relations at shopping center retail firm Deutsche EuroShop. Kiss produced a list of 10 key recommendations, which in short would be… Read More »

IR Magazine this week featured an excellent visualization of the drafting process for strategic investor relations plans. Click the graphic below for a closer look and check out more details and other magazine content here.

Henry Kravis, founder of private equity giant KKR gave Bloomberg a remarkable interview, looking back at 40 years in the investment business. The interview has a view fascinating insights into investment decisions and interaction with investor relations efforts. “I compare their responses to the dot-com period around 2000. Back then I’d ask, ‘What’s your strategy?’ and people would… Read More »

If you have covered financial communication and its tools and tactics – you at least have a rough understanding of what an annual report is (From Chapter 7: “a comprehensive report on a company’s activities throughout the preceding year (…) intended to give shareholders and other interested people information on the company’s activities and performance.”) Of course you’re probably… Read More »

Carl Icahn is an investment legend and has certainly made it into several CEOs’ nightmares. While we are usually talking about “Financial Communication” in terms of how to best communicate with the financial industry and investment community, Icahn is an extreme example of the plentiful challenges for financial communicators. He frequently uses public communication including a dedicated online platform (Shareholders’… Read More »